IgorMUD’s Design Guides

Item Design
Guide (coming soon)

Design Guides

Igor boasts a unique, distinctive
MUD, a game with Areas and Items found nowhere else on the Internet.This is due to the diligence of our
Approval Team and years of imaginative Creator Wizards who have risen in the
ranks and developed the extensive realms of (and above) Igor.

In order for a Wizard to get an
Area or Item into the world of Igor, he or she (or it) must submit it to Igor’s
Approval process for review by the Quality and Balance Arches.

The following Design Guides were
developed to assist Igor Wizards in the creation process.

If the question is here, realize
that it should be part of the Item or Area.These Guides should notbe considered justsuggestions for Area and Item creation ideas.

Instead, realize that the Approval
Team will want to know the answers to these questions when they talk with
Wizards regarding their submission during the actual Approval process.

Area Design Guide

What is the story of the Area?

·Is
your idea/story original or unique?

·What
level of players are you aiming to attract?

·Does
the Area accomplish your story?

·How
does it accomplish the story?

·Will
your Area keep the attention of your target audience?

Is
there a lot of description?

·Is
every noun given an add_item?

·Is
the description enough to keep a player interested?

·How
deep does the description go?

>Does the add_items have add_items of their own?

Is the Area very active?

·Are
there add_actions?

·Do
the add_actions do a simple action?

·Do
the add_actions lead to a plot device (hidden room, clue, etc.)?

·Is
the activity exciting, clever, cute, necessary?

·Are
the trigger words for the add_actions easy/hard to figure out?

Are there NPCs in the Area?

·Do these NPCs talk?

>Do these NPCs fit in with the story?

>Do the NPCs give story information only?

>Do the NPCs give quest hints?

·Do these NPCs fight?

>Do they give good weapons/armour?

>Are they designed to give good exp points?

>Do they have special attacks?

>Do they have unique specials?

>Are they part of the story?

·Do the NPCs wander?

>Why do they wander?

>Can they be tricked to wander where you don't want them to?

>What makes them wander?

·Do the NPCs interact with the players?

>Do they catch_tell and give hints or information

>Do they answer to 'help' in appropriate ways?

Is there a quest or a puzzle to
be solved?

·Is the quest or puzzle solvable?

·Is it a mental puzzle, or a find-pieces puzzle?

·Does the puzzle or quest work, code wise?

·Does the puzzle or quest fit the story?

·If there's no quest or puzzle, why not?

Are there a lot of rooms in
your Area?

·How
many rooms aren't actually needed?

·Are
there any hidden rooms?

·Are
there any hidden exits?

Where/How does your Area fit
into Igor's "continent"?

·What
kinds of Areas/descriptions are around yours?

·Does
it "fit in"?

>If not, why does that work?

Do you award explorer points in
your Area?

·If so, how many?

>Easy ones, or difficult?

·If not, why?

Have you proofread the
descriptions in your Area?

·Have you checked all your descriptions for typos?

·Have you checked ALL descriptions for all items,
monsters, etc.?

·Are your descriptions coherent to all players?

>(Igor's players know American &/or British English).

Has someone else walked through
your Area?

·Have
you asked another Wizard to walkthrough and check out your Area?

>Have you discussed and responded to that Wizard’s comments?

·Have
you had a second and third walk through and discussion with that Wizard, or
another one?

>Have you discussed and responded to this Wizard’s comments?

·Did
you use their suggestions and make revisions?

>If not, why?

·Did
you discuss ideas in your Area that the walkthrough Wizard didn't understand?